Krueger Jeweler — Local services in Fort Atkinson

I hadn’t planned to ever leave a review, but now after having a proper jeweler and a well made ring, I can’t in good faith not let others be aware of my experience. Last August (8/2024) my fiancé proposed with this ring made by Paul Krueger. We went to Paul back in January (1/2024) and started talking about designing it and how I wanted it to look. Come August the ring was done just a couple days before I was proposed to and received it. Within a week to a week and a half of having the ring I noticed (see photo 1) small black dots around the prongs of the ring. I tried cleaning it and realized it wasn’t coming off. I took it in to Paul and told him I was concerned these were air bubbles in the gold. He told me he didn’t know and wanted to keep it to look at it. Sure enough, he calls me back a few days later and there’s porosity spots in the gold that were very visible to my untrained naked eye. There is no reason this should have been found by me when HE is the one who made it and HE is the jeweler, not me. He had to send it out of state to be fixed and I get it back within 1-2 weeks after I myself had only had the ring for a week-ish.

Within the next 2ish months (September-October of 2024) the ring was back in another 2-3 times. See photos 3 & 4. My prongs were extremely crooked. From an overhead view, side view, no matter how you looked at them they were crooked and Paul claimed he could only sort of tell they were crooked. My hidden halo (photo 3) was also crooked and had a droop to it, instead of being a straight line. Paul took the ring back to fix both of these concerns at separate times and could not explain to me why these things were built this way. I did not wear my ring to sleep, do chores or shower. The ring did not get damaged in any way I have pictures of the day I received it crooked prongs, porosity spots, and crooked hidden halo before anything could’ve even happened to it. It was built this way and there was zero accountability for all these issues on his end.

My last straw was the week of Thanksgiving 2024. We’d only been engaged for 3 months and my ring had already been in 3 times, each time being weeks at a time. I was out in public when (see photos 2) I look down and see a stone is missing from the band of my engagement ring. I had to crawl around in a museum to find this dropped diamond, and it was a miracle that I did so. I then gave Paul a call telling him what happened and that we’d be in tomorrow. When I got home my fiance took the ring out of the bag I put it in to inspect it. Upon picking it up a SECOND diamond fell out to his touch. There is no excusable reason a 3 month old ring should be dropping diamonds like that! When I called Paul to tell him a second diamond fell out and we would be looking to talk refund options versus repairs, he laughed. I have never encountered such an unprofessional and overtly uncaring individual regarding their own profession in my life. Now that I’ve had my replacement engagement ring for 6 months now and had no issues I feel like it’s my place to say what happened to me was not normal and completely unacceptable. Paul did apologize, offer to rebuild the ring and he did refund my fiance his money. That does not take away all the time we spent building it, then time it was away to fix, as well as the terrible connotation that ring had as well as the beginning of our engagement.

I’d also like to mention I am NOT the only one this has happened to. I personally know other people who have experienced similar issues with him. So as much as I hoped this was a one off thing with...

I got my now husband's great grandmother's ring for an engagement ring so no wedding band would fit it perfectly and would need a little work. Once I found the band I wanted Paul put it all together, when I went to pick it up (Unsoddered like requested for pictures at the weeding) we talked over how it would sit and would be finished. I did Not agree with everything being said. When we talked about the changes I thought we were on the same page. Once I brought it back after the wedding he redid a mold and I agreed on it thinking we were still on the same page. When my husband finally brought the finished ring back it was nothing as discussed the second time. It looked as if he toke his original image in his mind and finished the ring and didn't redo the bands like talked about.

I do prefer helping local businesses and see why people like the family as they do seem nice and did help me in a different situations and maybe all this was just because it had to be customized, I'm not sure. However, with how long it toke (all 3 times he had the ring), and going in multiple times to explain what was wanted I do not want someone else to be as disappointed as we are. Sad to say I am hesitant to even wear the ring now as 1) I do not like how it turned out and 2) it looks nothing like the ring I original got from my husband. Also 2 weeks later I wore the ring 3 times, just for some special occasions not consistently and where it was soddered together it...

A decade ago I bought a beautiful estate set online and brought it in for sizing and appraisal. Owner picked the rings apart and encouraged me to return them and buy a set from him. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I went elsewhere for the services I'd requested as well as every service I've needed since then. (The rings were appraised for $3800 by a jeweller who was happy for my business). I recently bought another ring needing sizing but past experience reminds me not to trouble Krueger for such menial service. Decisions we make today have future...